The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Region (1991-98): People without a Border

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the topic of border crossings in terms of its everyday dimension in the light of the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1991. It focuses on interactions among the people who live on either side of the border. It seeks to understand how the transformation of the form and function of the border as a result of changes in the political landscape between the two countries has been experienced, defined, and understood by the inhabitants of the borderland in their everyday lives. The article is mediated through individual stories, in-depth interviews, ethnographic observation, media sources, and archival materials gathered from local and national archival centers in Eritrea during the summer of 2017. The findings reveal that the reactivation of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border had no effect not only on the preexisting social, cultural, and religious homogeneity among the people living across it, but also on everyday cross-border experiences and relations, and that the border and identity lines remained fluid and invisible. The border reconfiguration had brought only an enormous positive economic impact on the local people’s lives because of their distinctive geopolitical advantages.